CMS has fined two hospitals in September for alleged violations of its price transparency rule. This marks the third month in a row that the agency has issued fines against hospitals for price transparency noncompliance, following a yearslong period of light enforcement.

The federal government has warned hospitals that using third-party analytics tools on their websites could violate HIPAA, and more than 20 hospitals are facing class-action lawsuits over the use of these tools. But a recent analysis found that hospitals are doing a poor job of fixing their websites and preventing patient data collection.

About 36% of U.S. hospitals are in compliance with CMS’ price transparency rule, up from 24.5% in February, according to a new report. This progress will remain slow unless CMS can do a better job of effectively enforcing its rule, the report declared.

CMS recently fined two hospitals for alleged violations of its price transparency rule. These fines are only the third and fourth penalties issued by the agency since the rule took effect on January 1, 2021. These fines may become more common — CMS also announced that it is updating its enforcement process for the rule.

By evaluating the potential of healthcare operations software investments to affect each of these three key outcomes areas — patient outcomes, workforce outcomes, and risk and compliance outcomes — CIOs can make informed decisions that drive value and improve outcomes for patients, providers, and the entire organization. 

Medtech companies should be particularly mindful of the following legal and regulatory compliance issues. This is especially true for companies transitioning to data-based services.

Medtech companies should have a team of FDA advisors at the ready to develop and implement pre- and post-market strategies, prevent and resolve pre- or post-market issues and guide lifecycle management

The life sciences industry is more quickly adapting to new methods, standards and requirements. The focus is now on how to drive greater data governance and quality through a unified framework.  The challenge comes in instituting a framework that will meet regulatory and labeling requirements.

A CMS rule, which went into effect December 31, requires that providers publish up-to-date digital contact information regarding their compliance, using approved methods. Noncompliant hospitals will be publicly listed, akin to the Office of Civil Rights’ breach notification portal, the so-called “Wall of Shame.”

The hospitals that were found to be fully compliant with the federal price transparency rule had a few strategies in common, including picking the right technology partner and beginning their efforts early — in some cases before the rule was even proposed.

CMS’ latest proposed rule, which includes stringent penalties for hospitals that are found to be flouting the price transparency rule, comes on the heels of an analysis showing that a vast majority of hospitals are not in compliance with the regulation that went into effect on Jan. 1.

Despite a 20-year head start, providers still fall short of HIPAA requirements around fulfilling patient requests for their medical records. In light of the federal information blocking rules, providers should first examine their compliance with HIPAA and then address the new demands imposed by the recently enacted regulations.

The federal price transparency rule for hospitals went into effect Jan. 1, but a new analysis shows that a majority of providers studied were “unambiguously noncompliant.”

Many players in life sciences and other sectors balk at updating their compliance systems because of the cost and resources involved, but addressing possible lapses now can save your company millions of dollars in fines and reputational damage.

The Office of the Inspector General will audit Medicare Part B telehealth services to detect potential vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. To prepare, providers must first take stock of their programs and conduct audits of their own, experts say.

CMS has finalized changes to the Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as Stark Law. Healthcare law experts say that these changes will generally make it easier for hospitals and physicians to remain in compliance with the statute.

The combined company will retain the Datica name and is headquartered in Minneapolis. Sansoro Health CEO Jeremy Pierotti will take on the chief executive role of the new company and former Datica CEO Travis Good will move to the position of chief technology officer.

The implementation of data regulations and an enforcing oversight committee can have a great impact and encourage many trial sponsors to become more transparent with their trials.